


Kids that I Once Knew

by hauntedlittledoll



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman and Robin (Comics), Green Arrow (Comics), Teen Titans (Comics), The Flash (Comics)
Genre: Future Titans, Gen, Sleepovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-14
Updated: 2014-09-14
Packaged: 2018-02-17 10:39:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2306711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hauntedlittledoll/pseuds/hauntedlittledoll
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The sleepover at Titans’ Tower takes a serious turn.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kids that I Once Knew

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CavalryofWoah](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CavalryofWoah/gifts).



> Written for rosaliathegreat during the 2014 DCU Fic Hunt.
> 
> Title taken from ”Dead Hearts” by _Stars ___.

_"I could say it, but you won’t believe me._

_You say you do, but you don’t deceive me.”_

Time seemed to drag on in the middle of the night.

Lian just wanted Daddy to come get her.  The sleepover at Titans’ Tower wasn’t fun anymore.

It had been a lot of fun in the beginning.  The senior Titans called her ‘Speedy,’ fed her junk food and let her watch scary movies.  Robin sulked the whole time, but Impulse helped Lian build a pillow fort in her room and they stayed up late to whisper secrets.  Kid Flash made towers of pancakes for breakfast, and Lian _never **ever**_ wanted to leave.

So when Daddy called to see if Lian would like to stay another night while he tied up a few loose ends, the answer was a big fat **"YES!"**

Wonder Girl took Lian to a museum.  She got to meditate with Raven, and play video games with Beast Boy, and stay up late again, and Lian got toaster-waffles in the morning, because it was Red Robin’s turn to make breakfast and Batman’s protégés were only allowed to work the toaster.  Ravager even braided Lian’s hair while they waited for Daddy to pick her up.

* * *

 

Daddy never came to get her.  Uncle Dick and Uncle Wally came instead.

Daddy was missing, but it would be okay—they were going to go find him.

Uncle Dick _promised_.

Aunt Dinah offered to take Lian until Daddy was found, but Lian didn’t want to go.  Daddy was supposed to pick her up _here_.  There was a lot of serious adult discussion about that.  Lian didn’t get to listen, but Damian and Irey did.

In the end, Lian stayed with the Titans and everyone else went off to find Daddy.

Lian sat with Rose for a long time so that no one else would see her cry, and when she felt just a little bit better, she went out to watch TV while most of the Titans went on a mission.  _Most_.  Not all, because Damian and Irey stayed with Lian.

They order pizza and marathon Disney movies.  Lian curls up on the sofa with her head in Irey’s lap.  Damian sits on the floor at their feet, making grumpy noises when Lian hides her face in his cape, but he doesn’t move out of reach.

* * *

 

This time, Lian crawled into her friend’s bed instead of the sleeping bag, and there was no whispering.  Irey dozed, but Lian couldn’t sleep.  She watched the clock instead.  When Irey stirred, Lian stroked the older girl’s hair to keep the speedster from waking up.

A few years ago, Lian had been older than Irey.  Then they were the same age, and _Lian_ took care of her friend while the grown-ups worked.  Now Irey was older and Lian was younger and the roles had switched.

It made Lian sad sometimes and impatient too.  Growing up seemed to take an awful long time the normal way, and Lian couldn’t be a proper Titan until she was much bigger.

Lian watched the numbers on the clock go by just as slowly as the years that stood between her and being a real Titan like Irey.

Eventually, she got hungry.  Lian had given her pizza to Irey, and now she wanted ice cream.  She wasn’t _allowed_ to have ice cream this late, but Lian was pretty sure the Titans wouldn’t stop her.

She wiggled out of Irey’s grip on her neck and held her breath.  The redhead didn’t stir.  Lian tiptoed across the room, opened the door, and almost tripped over Damian.

It didn’t matter that she caught herself in time; Damian was a light sleeper if he slept at all.  Lian crossed her arms, and the older boy crossed his.  She knew that expression—that was Damian’s “mission-of-utmost-importance” face.

Lian was not a mission, and Uncle Dick was going to be in _so_ much trouble when he came back.

When inconveniently motivated, Damian was impossible to budge so Lian called him a stupid-head and shut the door in his face.  She wished it was a door she could slam, but it wasn’t so she sulked all the way back to bed.

Irey was awake now, but nice enough not to tease or lecture.  This was why Irey was Lian’s favorite, she decided, graciously accepting a hug.

Out of the pure goodness of her heart, Lian forgave Damian too—but only after he returned with a few liberated cartons of ice cream.

* * *

Morning found all three sleeping in the pillow fort surrounded by makeshift projectiles and half-empty cartons of half-melted ice cream.

So did Daddy, Uncle Dick and Uncle Wally.

Lian was too excited to see Daddy to pay much attention to the lecture, but she heard the bit where they’re all grounded from the Tower for a little while.  Possibly until Lian’s old enough to be a Titan herself.

Lian just smiled at her future teammates from the safety of Daddy’s arms.  _Worth it._


End file.
